What Advanced Farm Technologies does

Advanced Farm Technologies is a Davis, California-based agricultural robotics company that developed autonomous systems for harvesting delicate fruit crops. Founded in 2017, the company built robotic platforms capable of operating autonomously in field conditions to pick strawberries — its primary commercial product — and was developing an adapted apple harvesting robot with support from a Washington state agricultural grant. The core technology combined perception, manipulation, and outdoor autonomous navigation to address labor shortages and high labor costs in fruit production, with an explicit value proposition of 24/7 harvesting operations independent of seasonal human labor availability.

The company commercialized its robotic strawberry harvester via direct sales to large-scale commercial farms in California's major production areas, representing a capital-intensive hardware sales revenue model. Over its operating life it raised approximately $34.2 million across a 2018 seed round, a 2019 round, and a 2021 $25 million Series B led by Catapult Ventures with participation from strategic investors Kubota Corporation, Yamaha Motor Corporation, and Impact Ventures. The OEM investor base positioned the company for fleet-scale deployment through established agricultural equipment distribution channels.

In April 2025 CNH Industrial acquired Advanced Farm Technologies' intellectual property and assets as part of a broader precision agriculture M&A push, ending the company's independent operations. Prior to the acquisition, leadership included co-founder and CEO Marc Grossman, Co-Founder and Head of Software Carl Allendorph, co-founder and CTO Cedric Jeanty, and Co-Founder, President and CFO Kyle Cobb.

Name

Advanced Farm Technologies

Legal name

Advanced Farm Technologies Inc.

Website

https://advanced.farm

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Advanced Farm Technologies developed autonomous robotic systems for harvesting delicate fruit crops, primarily strawberries and apples, serving large-scale commercial farms in California and Washington to address agricultural labor shortages.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Robotics

NAICS

Farm Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing (333111), Agricultural Implement Manufacturing (33311)

SIC

Farm Machinery & Equipment (3523), Agricultural Services (700)

akta.pro primary industry

Robotic Harvesting & Picking Systems (Fruit/Vegetable harvest robots) (AFAAAGAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Robotics & Autonomous Field Operations (Weeding, Spraying, Harvest Assist, Autonomous Tractors) (AFAGALAJ), Agricultural & Field Robotics (HDAAAIAD)

Keywords

• Agricultural robotics
• Autonomous harvesting
• Fruit picking robots
• Precision agriculture
• Farm automation

Headquarters

HQ city

Davis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Robotic Harvesting Systems: Sale of autonomous fruit harvesting robots to commercial agricultural operations for strawberries and apples.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Core offering

Advanced Farm Technologies develops and sells autonomous robotic systems that harvest delicate fruits in commercial field conditions, with a robotic strawberry harvester as its primary commercial product and an apple harvesting robot in development. The robots are deployed at large-scale fruit farms to automate picking operations that have traditionally relied on seasonal manual labor.

Product overview

Advanced Farm Technologies developed autonomous fruit harvesting robots, including a robotic strawberry harvester that operates autonomously in fields, and was adapting the technology for apple harvesting. The company focused on agricultural robotics to address labor shortages in fruit production, particularly in California's major production areas. Note: CNH Industrial acquired Advanced Farm's IP and assets in April 2025.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Robotic Strawberry Harvester Autonomous robot that operates in agricultural fields to pick strawberries without manual labor, designed for large-scale commercial strawberry farms in California.
• Apple Harvesting Robot Robotic system under development for autonomous apple harvesting, leveraging the company's existing strawberry harvesting platform and targeted at commercial apple orchards.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Yamaha Motor Corporation: Japanese mobility and robotics OEM with agriculture-adjacent unmanned systems expertise, and an Advanced Farm Series B investor; relevant as a strategic backer with relevant agricultural autonomy capabilities and Asian market reach.
• AGCO Corporation: Global agricultural equipment manufacturer (Fendt, Massey Ferguson, Valtra) with growing investments in precision agriculture and autonomy; comparable as a broad incumbent whose strategic moves shape competitive dynamics for niche players like Advanced Farm.
• John Deere (Deere & Company): Global agricultural equipment leader that acquired Blue River Technology and is investing heavily in autonomy, robotics, and computer vision for crop production; competes broadly with Advanced Farm as an incumbent shaping the precision-ag robotics landscape.
• CNH Industrial: Parent of New Holland and Case IH, and acquirer of Advanced Farm's IP and assets in April 2025; relevant as the precision-ag incumbent that now owns Advanced Farm's harvesting technology and determines its commercialization trajectory.
• Kubota Corporation: Japanese global agricultural equipment OEM and Advanced Farm Series B investor; comparable as a strategic OEM investor with overlapping interest in specialty-crop automation and a global distribution footprint that could complement Advanced Farm's technology.

Direct peers

• Dogtooth Technologies: UK-based developer of autonomous strawberry-picking robots using computer vision and robotic manipulators; a direct competitor in the delicate-fruit autonomous harvesting category Advanced Farm pioneered.
• Tortuga AgTech: Colorado-based robotics startup developing autonomous strawberry harvesting and precision agriculture robots; competes head-to-head with Advanced Farm in the same strawberry harvesting niche targeting California growers.
• FFRobotics: Israel-based company developing multi-fruit robotic harvesting systems including apple harvesters; directly comparable on the apple harvesting technology that Advanced Farm developed under its Washington state grant.

Emerging players

• Small Robot Company: UK-based agricultural robotics startup developing autonomous field robots for weeding, mapping, and precision operations; comparable as a precision-ag robotics startup with similar technology pillars and target customer base of specialty crop growers.
• Naio Technologies: French agricultural robotics company developing autonomous weeding and hoeing robots for specialty crops; an emerging player in agricultural robotics with overlapping autonomy technology stack but different crop-application focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/AFTrobots
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/advancedfarm

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors7 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Advanced Farm Technologies